1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to urinal or toilet deflectors or splash guards and more particularly to an insert for a wall mounted urinal for assuring that splashes and drips are contained within the urinal.
2. Description of Related Art
The following art defines the present state of this field:
Hedberg, U.S. Pat. No. 1,442,270: An improved shield device for toilet bowls and seats comprises a body portion made of flexible, yielding material substantially segmental in outline and designed to be secured to the under surface of a toilet seat at the front thereof, and an apron portion and designed to extend downwardly from the under surface of the seat to a point spaced below the top of the bowl, the forward edge of said apron being beveled to incline downwardly and rearwardly to engage the inner edge of the bowl top, for the purposes stated.
Piper, U.S. Pat. No. 1,854,328: A sanitary shield comprises a clamping member adapted to be placed on the rim of a closet bowl, an apron hinged to said clamping member, a spring on the hinge member for causing the apron to assume an inclined position above the rim of the bowl.
Bryant, U.S. Pat. No. 1,879,066: A shield is adapted for attachment to a boy's toilet seat of the open front type having an opening extending inwardly from its forward edge, said shield comprising a bowl adapted to be seated in said opening with the mouth of said bowl facing rearwardly, and yieldable means on said bowl adapted to frictionally engage the edges of the seat adjacent said opening for detachably securing said bowl to the seat.
Haley, U.S. Pat. No. 24,070,605: A commode attachment comprises a baffle which is arcuate from end to end in plan and which is arcuate in cross section from end to end and whose center is elevated, the ends forming discharge chutes which decline each way from the elevated portion, the forward margin of the baffle being shaped to fit against the inside of the front wall of the commode from end to end and the baffle extending rearwardly beyond the commode rim but only part of the way across the commode bowl so as to leave the rear portion of the bowl unobstructed and means for attaching the baffle to the commode.
Juaire et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,918: A urinal for use with a portable restroom unit is formed of plastic and includes a unitary urinal body, including rear, side, bottom and front walls. Front and rear shelves are integral with front and rear walls, respectively, and cooperate with front and rear locking elements for supporting a screen. Attachment tabs project from the rear and bottom walls to permit attachment of the urinal to a wall of the portable restroom unit. A tubular drain tube is integral with the urinal and includes large and small diameter portions to permit selective connection to large and small diameter drain tubes.
Brickhouse, U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,602: A urination deflector for attachment to a toilet seat is formed using a sheet of flexible plastic material which is provided with hook and loop fastening arrangements which maintain the device to the toilet seat and provide for folding of the device into its functional configuration.
Perry, U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,851: A urinating splash shield for use with conventional toilets which includes a splash shield and radial attachment ring. The splash shield is flipped up for use and down for nonuse. The attachment ring enables the splash shield to seat within the toilet bowl mouth. The device isolates the toilet seat from the urine stream thereby negating any additional need to clean the toilet seat.
Burbank et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,447: A urine deflector is designed to be detachably interconnected with a toilet seat of the type having an upper surface designed to support a user and a hole defined through the seat. The deflector includes a stream deflection member designed to deflect a stream of urine into the toilet bowl. The deflection member has a concave deflection surface. A support member is provided that has a generally planar body designed to be supported on the upper surface of the toilet seat. The generally planar body supports the deflection member such that when the generally planar body is placed on the upper surface of the toilet seat, the deflection member projects into the hole in the seat and the concave deflection surface faces a user seated on the seat. The support member also includes an attachment for releasably retaining the generally planar body in engagement with the upper surface of the seat.
Brannon, III, U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,075: A toilet bowl splash guard prevents splattering about the toilet when the user is going to the bathroom. The toilet bowl splash guard includes a support member being adapted to be attached to an underside of a toilet seat; and also includes an upper sheet of material having a top end which is securely attached to the support member; and further includes a hinge member being attached to a bottom end of the upper sheet of material; and also includes a lower sheet of material being attached to the hinge member and being adapted to extend into a toilet bowl; and further includes side sheets of material being attached to the upper and lower sheets of material to form side walls to prevent splattering to sides of the toilet; and also includes a fastening member for fastening one of the sheets of material to the toilet bowl.
Our prior art search with abstracts described above teaches: a toilet seat front shield, a toilet bowl with hinged shield, a shield for a boys toilet seat, an attachment for toilets, a urinal for use with a portable toilet structure, a urination deflector, a collapsible urinal splash shield, an adult urine splash guard, and a toilet bowl splash guard, but except for Juaire et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,918, the prior art does not address issues concerning conventional wall-mounted urinals. Specifically, the prior art does not appear to address the issues of overspray, leakage, drips and related problems that occur with the use of wall mounted urinals where a male is standing during the act of urination. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides solutions and further related advantages as described in the following summary.